Carrie Prejean is suing Miss California USA officials, saying that, by firing her, they're guilty of religious discrimination, defamation, and intentional infliction of emotional distress. She claims officials tried to get her fired by asking her to pose for Playboy.

Organization officials say she was fired because she missed appearances, but Prejean says a "fabricated a fraudulent list of some 50 public appearances allegedly missed by Prejean which they released to the media in order to justify her termination as Miss California USA." Donald Trump isn't named in the suit even though he owns the organization. [TMZ]

Miss California USA co-executive director Keith Lewis issued a statement saying, "I would guess Carrie sees it as a chance to get publicity for her upcoming book because in the interviews I have seen, she talks about the suit and the book in the same breath... For us, it has never been about her beliefs and we have always just wanted to move on. But it seems like Carrie really has nothing new to talk about or anything new in her life so the impression is she just keeps looking for ways to rehash her position as a victim because of her onstage answer." [TMZ]

A lawyer for pageant co-executive director Shanna Moakler said, "As everyone who watched or read her public statements is well aware, Ms. Prejean's unfortunate and bigoted statements are responsible for any public humiliation or damages to her reputation that she has claimed to have suffered. Ms. Moakler strenuously denies that she did anything wrong and looks forward to proving that in a court of law." [People]

On the Today show Joe Jackson said of Michael Jackson's death being ruled a homicide and learning of his drug use, "I'm not angry, I'm mad … Because I didn't know all this was going on." He added that the family "wants justice to be done," but said he didn't know if charges should be brought against Dr. Conrad Murray. [People]

Nearly 1 million people have watched a video on YouTube called "Michael Jackson alive?! Seen coming out of coroner's van!" but a spokeswoman for Germany TV station RTL says the video was created to show how easy it is to spread rumors online. "We sent out a press release before we did the video to alert everyone that it was fake, but once posted it spread really fast," she said. [CNN]

Macaulay Culkin's rep says of the rumors that he is Blanket Jackson's biological father, "The inquiries are too preposterous for us to even acknowledge." [TMZ]

Renee Zellweger was in a car accident this morning in Los Angeles. There were no injuries and a source says, "This is not her fault. Someone made a U-turn into her." [TMZ]

The police have released more details on DJ AM's death. He had texted friends about a Las Vegas gig he had scheduled for Friday night and they contacted the police when he missed his flight. [People]

A spokeswoman for the New York City Medical Examiner's office denied reports that suicide had been ruled out in DJ AM's death saying, "We have ruled nothing in and we have ruled nothing out. Everything is still pending. Nothing has changed." [E!]

Dr. Frank Ryan, who performed surgery on DJ AM in 2003, says, "Adam and I became friends after the surgery. One side of him the public may not be aware of is he was very philanthropic. One of the things I want to get out to the public is what a phenomenal guy he was." [E!]

"Every time I met [DJ AM], he was such a wonderful person, full of life, very bright," said Katy Perry. "It continues to remind everybody to live life to the fullest [and] love the people around you." [E!]

Katy Perry says of guest judging American Idol, "I might become a little bit of a buddy with Simon because whenever I watch that show, as much as he's an asshole, he's a very truthful, honest asshole. I don't want to break their hearts, but how many of us know that one person that has been trying and trying, and doing karaoke and little gigs here and there at, like, an open mic. And nobody has told them they can't sing in pitch-for, like, 15 years... You're like, 'Somebody needs to say something' and unfortunately, I might be that gal to tell you the truth." [E!]

When asked if she has any regrets about leaving American Idol, Paula Abdul replied: "You know, to say 'no regrets' isn't easy. I feel like I have been such a big, huge part of the success of the show from day one. I loved being able to be the artist's artist; being there from my point of view of knowing what it feels like to be vulnerable and to be out there wanting to achieve the most magical moment in a minute and thirty seconds. To be able to do that was an amazing experience and the show was wonderful for me in that regard... I'm going to miss the experience of watching young talent evolve into a place where they get to take off and soar." [TV Guide Magazine]

Kelly Clarkson cancelled a performance at the Minnesota State Fair after suffering from voice-related problems during the sound check. [UPI]

Audrina Patridge says of Heidi Montag's musical career, "I feel like Heidi, you know, she's doing it for fun, where a lot of singers and people, they work their ass off, and they actually have amazing voices and they can really sing and perform, and I feel like a lot of people don't get to experience what Heidi has, going on in front of a billion people and perform on TV... I just don't think she's taking it that serious, and that's what's kind of disappointing for me, for music lovers out there." [People]

Audrina is leaving The Hills soon. She says, "I'm almost done with The Hills. We're in the middle of finishing these episodes, and I'll be leaving then... It feels like I'm graduating... I'm taking the next step and growing up and maturing and moving on in my life." [Us]

At the link is a teaser for Madonna's upcoming music video for "Celebration," which features Jesus Luz. [People]

Mel B and her husband Stephen Belafonte are suing a man they say backed out of a $2 million business deal and forged her signature on documents. [TMZ]

Twins Lisa and Michelle Hull say Ryan Jenkins tried repeatedly to pick them up in the months after his marriage to Jasmine Fiore. One time he invited them to his hotel room on their birthday and Michelle says, "My sister and I stopped by. We then happened to notice there was a large Jacuzzi filled with bubbles and rose petals. He offered us champagne. It was a little uncomfortable." [Radar Online]

Jasmine Fiore's remains will be cremated and her ashes will be scattered in Santa Cruz. There will be a memorial service in Las Vegas but a date hasn't been set. [TMZ]

A federal appeals court ruled that Paris Hilton can sue Hallmark Cards for using her picture and catchphrase "that's hot," without her permission. [Reuters]

At the link is a video about a charity campaign Lucy Liu started to help needy children in Peru. [TMZ]

Victoria Beckham will appear on the October cover of Elle. [N.Y. Magazine]

Rufus Wainwright, his sister Martha, and Norah Jones held a concert in Bridgehampton, NY, that had to be moved inside because of rain. By the end of the show the sun started coming out and Wainwright said, "It always suns when I sing because I'm a Wainwright." [WWD]

"Maybe my crazy time is coming up. Let's see what happens. Maybe I'm just a late bloomer. But I think it's also just my nature. I was thinking today when I was driving, How am I going to make sure that [my son] Kingston never does anything bad and doesn't get arrested? I was thinking, How did I stay out of trouble? And I know it's just ‘cause my parents are so strict. I mean, I'm still scared of them." — Gwen Stefani on why she's never in the tabloids. [ONTD]

Demi Moore insisted to French Marie Claire that she's never had plastic surgery, saying, "It's completely false – I've never had it done. I would never judge those who have – if it's the best thing for them then I don't see a problem. But I don't like the idea of having an operation to hold up the aging process – it's a way to combat your neurosis. The scalpel won't make you happy... The day I start crying when I look at myself in the mirror might be the day when I'm less adamant about not having it done. For now I prefer to be a beautiful woman of my age than trying desperately to look 30." [Radar Online]